Dairy Dangers: 6 Reasons to Say No to Milk
Dairy is a controversial subject these days. Of course, there are a lot of supposed experts who claim that dairy is important for everything – from strong bones, healthy teeth and athleticism to everything in between. And we’ve been bombarded for years with advertisements flaunting stars with milk mustaches. Lately, however, there’s disagreement brewing. Maybe dairy isn’t so great after all? I remember when this information started leaking out; my mom and dad couldn’t believe it. They had spent their entire lives being duped into believing that milk was, somehow, integral to development. Oddly both my sister and I stopped drinking milk immediately and naturally upon being weaned and could…
Finding Yoga and Other Adventures
When it comes to health, food and fitness form two sides of the same coin. We really do need both to keep our bodies and mind functional and vibrant. A vegan diet high in raw foods sets the stage for optimum health but combining it with exercise really kicks everything into high gear. It can be anything from yoga to kickboxing but the fact is that we all really need to get off our asses and do something! Being a country girl and living on a farm has forced me into the inevitability of physical activity. I’m always doing something: stacking hay or shoveling manure or planting a garden. But…
Vegan Kids: Is A Vegan Diet Healthy for Children?
It’s strange that so many single out vegan kids when it comes to worrying about children’s health. Let’s face it: a significant percentage of children in today’s world are in a pathetic shape. And no, I’m not talking about starving kids in Africa; I’m referring to the kids here in ‘our own backyards’. Recent stats show that one in five school-going kids in the United States is obese [1]. Let that just sink in. It’s even worse for the adults. With nearly 70% of adult Americans obese or struggling with some form of weight issues [2], it’s easy to see that we’re looking at an epidemic. So, we need to…
Jicama and Hemp Seed Tabouleh
I had a craving for tabbouleh but all the recipes I kept coming across use cauliflower as the main ingredient. It’s like once they figured out that cauliflower made a great raw rice they started using it for everything! Cauliflower is great and all but I believe in mixing things up a little bit. Besides I’ve got some die-hard anti-cauliflower vigilantes around here who are just not having it! If I’m ‘un-cooking’ for the masses I need to get crafty. So I used jicama instead. You do have to chop it with a little more effort than the average cauliflower head, but it rices up real nice and everyone loves…
Cucumber, Tomato and Sprout Salad With Spinach Tahini Dressing
I love cucumber and tomato – and sprouts are always amazing -but sometimes it’s all about the dressing! This is my all-time favorite and was, essentially, born of a desire to incorporate raw tahini into as many things as possible. Certainly, spinach is an excellent choice for the dressing but alternate light, flavorful greens can be used: arugula is great… especially the wild, spicy kind that I am fortunate enough to already have growing in my garden. Likewise, basil can be tasty as well. Experiment with your favorites and you’re sure to find winners! But stay away from kale and collards. Maybe I’m kale crazy but this is one recipe…
Multiple O Onion Bread With Leeks and Scallions
Just taste this dehydrated onion bread and it will be obvious to you why it’s rated with multiple O’s! We offered this at our cafe and actually had customers order it in bulk so they’d have their own stash on hand! Kids love it too so you’ve got all areas covered. In our house, where there might be five kids at any given time, it’s hard to keep it stocked! It’s deliciously addictive and well worth setting aside a dehydrator day for, although it is actually very quick to prepare. The leeks and scallions in the bread make it very pretty as well.! At first you will think that there…
Mushrooms Stuffed With Pistachio Basil Pesto
This is my all-time favorite side dish or raw snack. If you use larger mushrooms (and larger tomatoes for the topping), this could be an amazing main dish to serve with a side salad. Just plan on dehydrating a little longer. The recipe is simple but potent and you will be rewarded ten-fold with amazing flavor that will have you wondering if this is really raw food at all! I have made this dish for office parties and no one can believe it’s not cooked… I literally serve slightly warmed straight from the dehydrator and people are salivating! The smell becomes so intoxicating as it dehydrates that it drives me…
Food Combining : A Potent Combination
On the surface you would think that going raw or vegan would solve all dietary or weight woes. Like you could just go on your merry way eating anything, in any way, that wasn’t restricted by that diet. But it doesn’t necessarily work that way. And it’s most likely that any problems that do ensue, come from really bad food combining. Prominent doctors and nutritionists have studied the whole science of food combining. There are many charts out there reflecting their findings. The general consensus is that properly combining food, whether raw or vegan or vegetarian or omnivore, is essential to good health. This is due to the fact that digestive…
The Organic Raw Shopping Experience
Very early on my raw lifestyle timeline, I had myself convinced that I could go 100% raw. I was always trying to eat consciously. Looking at packaging and trying to avoid anything that contained ingredients that I couldn’t pronounce was second nature to me. What I fed my husband and children was carefully considered; even if they clamored for ‘Lucky Charms’, I would undoubtedly force muesli and organic fruit upon them. And it seemed like it would be simple for someone like myself to just go completely raw since I had – for the most part – always preferred fruits and vegetables anyway, albeit not exclusively. Avoiding the Bad Stuff…
What’s So Great About Fermented Food?
Thousands of years ago when refrigerators were yet to be invented, our ancestors depended on fermentation as a method of preservation. This was especially true when it came to preserving vegetables. They relied on the fact that once triggered, chemical changes activated certain bacteria in fruits and vegetables, turning on the production of lactic acid. When lactobacilli just ‘do their thing’, starch and sugar content in fruits and vegetables transforms into lactic acid, a natural preservative. Voila! We have fermented food! Lacto-fermentation is the process that prevents raw organic produce from rotting. Ultimately this happens through the production of enzymes that keep harmful elements like carcinogens and toxins at bay.…
